Oil well casings usually are made up with threaded connectors. In view of the potential safety hazard and high cost associated with failed casing connectors in wells, it is particularly desirable that the joints formed by such connectors be reliable. However, present methods and apparatus for pressure and tension testing casing connectors frequently are inadequate or unreliable. For example, plugging a length of casing to facilitate testing is difficult and can adversely affect test results. Thus, it is not easy to weld a sealing plug into the casing which is made up of a high strength material, and in addition, the high temperatures of welding such materials lead to weaknesses in the casing, causing misleading results in pressure testing the casing. A sealing plug which is attached by threads also is troublesome, since the casing connector is threaded, and the threaded plug may fail before the connector.
The present invention provides a new method and apparatus for overcoming the above-described difficulties of the prior art.